[Lee Jong-gil's Autumn Return] The Thing Mozart That Salieri Was Jealous Of

Professor Oh Jong-woo of Sungkyunkwan University Department of Russian Language and Literature on 'Artistic Imagination'
"Art is about reviving life suppressed by norms"

Mozart, Who Approached Music with Autonomy Rather Than Genius Talent

Salieri Bound by Rules Could Not Understand... The Author Focuses on This Human Creativity

Antonio Salieri (1750?1825), the court composer in Vienna, Austria, died after suffering from senile dementia. While in the dementia ward, he ramblingly claimed that he had poisoned Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756?1791). This statement was published posthumously in newspapers and spread as far as Russia.

Russian poet Alexander Pushkin (1799?1837) was convinced that even if Salieri was not the real murderer, he certainly killed Mozart in the name of art. Five years later, he wrote a short tragedy titled 'Mozart and Salieri.'

In the tragedy, Salieri cries out that it is unjust that Mozart's music is superior to his own. Although Salieri did not kill Mozart, why was he tormented by guilt? Why did Pushkin portray Salieri as a murderer based only on rumors?

Professor Oh Jong-woo of Sungkyunkwan University's Department of Russian Language and Literature, in his book 'Artistic Imagination,' thoroughly dismantles the clich?d legend of the tormented Salieri and the genius Mozart. He focuses on why Salieri, despite accumulating artistic knowledge, could not unleash it, and what suppresses imagination and creativity.

Many sympathize more with Salieri than Mozart in their legend. This is likely due to the influence of the British playwright Peter Shaffer (1926?2016) and his play 'Amadeus.' The play begins with Salieri reminiscing about the past. In the long flashback that makes up most of the play, Salieri admires and envies Mozart's genius works. He becomes fiercely angry that such talent exists in the frivolous Mozart.

In the final scene, Salieri suddenly tells the audience, "I forgive you." The audience is thought to sympathize with their own lack of exceptional talent and envy the genius.

The film of the same name (1984), based on the play, deals with this aspect even more clearly. Salieri firmly declares himself the representative and protector of all ordinary people.

The film 'Amadeus' was not only very popular but also swept awards at film festivals including the American Academy Awards. Most critics agreed with the film's content and gave it high marks. This was partly because it was well made with Mozart's outstanding music as the background. But it was also because many strongly related to the theme and the phenomenon of Salieri representing ordinary people.

Professor Oh's view is somewhat different. He wrote, "While watching the film, we ordinary people, who have somehow become accomplices, excuse Salieri rather than accusing him of being a murderer."

"In this work, Salieri is not a specific character but an ordinary person who makes up most of the world. In the film, Mozart is a genius who composes music instantly without any anguish or worry. As a result, Mozart appears as a frivolous character to the point of being vulgar."

Shaffer said that he could not find any records showing Mozart composing while struggling. Ultimately, Salieri was not confronting Mozart. It can be said that he was resisting and blaspheming God, who gave the reckless Mozart his genius musicality.

The film 'Amadeus' depicts the genius as a divine being and contrasts him with ordinary people who suffer from having passion but no ability, thereby garnering support for the agonized ordinary person. Nevertheless, after watching the film, a strange aftertaste remains. Contrary to the author's intended theme, Mozart's music flows throughout the work and continues to linger in the ears.

Pushkin's 'Mozart and Salieri' deals with a different theme than 'Amadeus.' At first glance, it is easy to think that Salieri envies Mozart. It is assumed that Salieri naturally harbors a subconscious desire to belittle others' success.

However, Salieri in 'Mozart and Salieri' is not a character who envies better music. Rather, he needed a more outstanding composer. Why then did Salieri envy Mozart and ultimately poison him? Professor Oh focuses on Salieri's way of understanding art.

"Salieri regarded music as an art that could be acquired through study. Therefore, he learned composition with perseverance. (Omitted) Salieri understands art only conceptually. Thus, his remarks about art often fall into contradictions. For example, he boasts, 'Have I not finally reached the highest stage of the infinite world of art?' While saying the art world is infinite, he mentions its highest stage, that is, a limit. He tries to define art logically but falls into illogic."

There is no leisure in a person bound by rules. He cannot take Mozart's jokes at face value and responds seriously. Because he lacks leisure, he does not tolerate what cannot be conceptualized or schematized. This violence inevitably leads to murder.

Then, is Mozart in this work truly a divine being born with musical talent? That view depends on Salieri's perspective. In fact, Mozart also composed while suffering from insomnia. Unlike Salieri, he simply does not reveal the agony of composition so explicitly. The difference is clearly shown in the scenes where the two appear on stage.

Salieri's incessant words scatter without concretization because he talks about composition only conceptually. Salieri is also obsessed with desire. Since he does not possess the object, the music he talks about must be abstract. Mozart does not talk about music. He only plays the piano.

What is important to a composer is not conceptual words about music but the music itself. Mozart's piano sound opens up the suffocating stage filled with Salieri's bitter monologue. It creates a new space.

However, Salieri cries out about the cruel paradox of killing an artist for art. Professor Oh asserts that "this cannot be the words of an artist."

"This harsh criticism can only be made by those who crave power. Historically, those in power have created blacklists to eliminate artists to maintain their vested interests. The Nazis especially did this. That is why we can understand what art is."

Professor Oh thinks of art as a work that revives life suppressed by norms. This is because art creates a new order. Mozart's piano sound allows the audience to experience this fact.

Pushkin saw this not as genius but as human autonomy. He insightfully understood the nature of humans as subjects of artistic creation. Mozart was a being that Salieri, with his slavish tendencies, could never reach. In this play, the work of Mozart that Salieri envies is 'Don Giovanni.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.